An aircraft has wings. A flight of the aircraft is controlled by operating the wings (e.g. JP 2007-46790 A). Movable wings as one type of the abovementioned wings include primary control surfaces, which are constituted as rudder surfaces such as auxiliary wings (ailerons), rudders and elevators, and secondary control surfaces, which are constituted as flaps, spoilers and alike. These movable wings are operated by using actuators. In addition to the aforementioned devices, the aircraft has legs such as landing gear (a mechanism configured to support a body of the aircraft on the ground), for example.
The movable wings and legs are operated by hydraulics. More specifically, hydraulic circuits are situated in the aircraft. Hydraulic oil is supplied from the hydraulic circuits to actuators. For example, the actuators may be hydraulic cylinders. The actuators are coupled to the aforementioned movable wings or legs. The aforementioned movable wings or legs are operated in response to displacement of pistons of the hydraulic cylinders.
An electric actuator is also known as an actuator which drives a movable wing. For example, the electric actuator may have a screw mechanism. A rod of the screw mechanism is displaced by a drive force from an electric motor. The movable wing is displaced in response to displacement of the rod.
The electric actuator operates under electric power supply from a central distributor which is provided in the aircraft. For instance, the central distributor may be situated in a fuselage of the aircraft. Electric actuators are situated in main wings and a tail wing of the aircraft. A different wire is used for each of the electric actuators to be connected to the central distributor. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange a wire connected to the central distributor for each electric actuator. Accordingly, the aircraft requires long wires.
The aircraft includes electrical devices other than the electric actuators. Therefore, wire arrangement connecting the central distributor to every electrical device makes a total length of the wires in the aircraft very long. This results in a large weight of the aircraft.